Project Scorpio news: Release date, specs, and rumors

Xbox claims Project Scorpio will be the most powerful gaming console in history. Image credit: Expert reviews.

Project Scorpio, the upcoming successor to the Xbox One and Xbox One S, made its first apparition during the Electronic Entertainment Expo 2016 (E3 2016) last June, and it’s going to be released in late 2017.

The new Xbox One S came out just a few weeks ago, but Microsoft claims Project Scorpio is the real future of the company and will be the most powerful game console in the world.

Microsoft’s developing team said Scorpio is going to redefine gaming consoles. It will play the same games as Xbox One or Xbox One S, but its hardware will support 4K as well as virtual reality.

The console will compete with Neo, Sony’s next-gen console. Like Scorpio, Neo will play existing games in 4K. Rumors hint that Sony could reveal Neo on September 7 during PlayStation Meeting.

Neo: I upscale games to 4K. Me: My little brother can do that. Neo: oh ?

Scorpio’s specs and games

Project Scorpio will feature an eight-core AMD APU with 320 gigabytes per second of memory bandwidth (three times more than previous Xbox One models) and six teraflops of graphical computing performance (four times more).

Xbox Division Head, Phil Spencer, stated Scorpio was going to feature ultra-high-definition console gaming (4K) and high-end personal computer gameplay (VR). All existing Xbox One accessories, as well as games, will be compatible with the new console.

He mentioned games like Halo 5: Guardians, The Division, The Witcher 3 and Doom used a scaling system that lowers the game’s resolution to maintain a consistent frame rate. Scorpio will run these games in its native resolution without scaling.

Rumors about the project

Xbox Games Marketing Head, Aaron Greenberg, was adamant about the Scorpio not having exclusive titles. The General Manager of Game Publishing, Shannon Loftis, wasn’t so sure about it, though.

Loftis said in an interview it was up to video game developers and what they wanted to do. They could work on Scorpio-exclusives that benefit from the most powerful gaming system in the world.

Xbox One runs Windows 10 and Scorpio will probably do too, so reports say the latter could just support VR headsets like the $599 Oculus Rift.